Siliguri to mark Tenzing birth centenary

SNS, Siliguri, 2 September 2014: Programmes to mark the birth centenary of mountaineer Tenzing Norgay will be held in Siliguri this month. Programmes to mark the 61st Year of Ascent of Mt Everest and Birth Centenary Year of Tenzing Norgay were organised in a somber note on 29 May, following the disappearance of Everester Chanda Gayen and two other Sherpas on Mount Kanchenjungha and the death of 16 Sherpas in an avalanche on Mount Everest. 

The Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (HNAF) will organise the programme in Siliguri. According to sources, the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) is also likely to be associated with the birth centenary celebrations. 

Tenzing Norgay, along with New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, scaled Mount Everest for the first time on May 29, 1953. The SJDA chief executive officer (CEO), R Vimala, said the SJDA will hold discussions on the programmes with the HNAF. According to sources, the programme will be held at the Dinabandhu Mancha on 13 September. 

"Sherpas of the region who have climbed Mt Everest will be felicitated amid a cultural programme. Noted photographer and mountain lover Sujoy Das will be giving a presentation on Norgay and his life on the occasion. The son of Mr Norgay, Jamling Tenzing Norgay, is also expected to attend the programme," the sources said.